Les Cline at the Military Bowl

The Military Bowl and Wegmans Food Markets Inc. awarded Les Cline, a physical education teacher at Leesylvania Elementary School, with the Extra Yard for Teachers grant.

Cline received the award at the Military Bowl held recently, and said he will use the $1,000 grant for new games for his students.

Cline shared that one of his favorite parts of teaching is watching students develop their skills and gain confidence.

“Once they actually accomplish that skill, it is amazing to watch them cheer themselves [on],” he said.

Margaret MacGregor, principal at Leesylvania, said Cline has been a tremendous role model in their school community.

“He is beyond a P.E. teacher. I look at him as a safety officer in the building too. He is so supportive of every activity we have in the school, and he is focused on health and wellness because that was his background in the military as a corpsman. It has really supported and helped our community as well,” shared MacGregor.

Cline has 22 years of combined military service in the National Guard and Navy. He spent most of his time in the Navy as a hospital corpsman, assisting in clinical settings or providing medical aid in the field.

After his military service, Cline returned to education and has been teaching at Leesylvania Elementary for almost two decades.

“I understand what it takes as far as sacrifices and commitment to our country and serving our country and he did it proudly, and now I see him doing the same in the school community,” explained MacGregor.

Extra Yard for Teachers is an initiative of the College Football Playoff Foundation, providing grants to deserving public school teachers with military ties and those who teach in military communities.